Some 27,000 landless people gathered in New Delhi, hoping to march to Parliament with a single demand — give us land. But police locked them up Monday, chaining the gates to the vast Ramlila fairgrounds and barricading the demonstrators inside.

Monday had been planned as the culmination of a monthlong, 185-mile march north from the city of Gwalior to the national capital with this message: The masses have been largely untouched by India's economic boom.

"Day-by-day the Sensex goes up but the common people get nothing from this," said Anil Gupta, a march organizer, referring to the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark index, which closed at a record high Monday.

"People here are asking only for the basics. There is no greed. They don't want clothes or electricity, just land so they can feed themselves," he said.

After police barricaded the protesters inside the dusty fairgrounds Monday, they settled in, saying they would stay as long as it takes — at least they were getting one meal a day from the organizers. At home, they have nothing.

The call for land resonates in a country where some 70 percent of India's 1.1 billion people are dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods, many eking out an existence as subsistence farmers or itinerant laborers.

Poverty is rife. About 450 million Indians live on less than $1 a day, according to the World Bank.

The march brought together India's traditionally landless people — the "untouchables" and tribals at the bottom of the country's complex social ladder — and the newly landless, forced from their fields by new economic projects.

Dherum joined the march in the jungles of India's Madhya Pradesh state, the inspiration for Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book." He feeds his five children on about 50 cents a day, made by selling firewood foraged from the jungles.

"I just want a small piece of land so I can grow some vegetables," said the 35-year-old, who like many from India's indigenous tribes goes by one name.

"My father died doing this work, I'll die doing this," he said. "Give us some land to farm, nothing else."

India is trying to attract foreign investment to spur its economy and help develop its largely backward infrastructure. In part, it has chosen to do this by setting up Special Economic Zones, where companies get tax breaks to open businesses and factories.

But critics say farmers are often forced from their land or cheated of its value when it is acquired for these projects.

Priya Bishnu's family has fished eastern India's massive Chilika Lake for prawns for centuries. But they left the area recently after large companies were granted the right to set up huge prawn farms in the lake.

"When the government gives the multinational companies land, where does it come from? That's our land," the 33-year-old said.

"It should be our right to fish the lake and sell the prawns," she said, sitting with other marchers under a sign of independence leader Mohandas K. Gandhi.

Their protest has been peaceful, in keeping with the passive resistance set out by Gandhi, but the fears and frustrations of others have overflowed into violence.

The government canceled a plan to acquire 22,000 acres of land in eastern India for a petrochemical plant and shipyard after the deaths of 14 farmers in clashes with police. Another 15 people have died in sporadic violence.

March organizers demand a national body be created to look into the land issue and amend India's vague property laws and endemic corruption that allow farmers to be strong-armed off their land by powerful landowners.

In an apparent answer to the protests, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office announced late Monday that a National Land Reforms Council — with Singh as chairman — would be established. Officials in his office were not available to discuss details.

But activists were skeptical.

"They talk about helping the average man, but the policies are anti-poor," said Gupta, noting that legislation already enacted to provide land rights to the tribes has not been enforced.

"But when a multinational needs land, the government organizes everything for them," he said.

Al-Hamdulillah (From a Married Muslimah) La Howla Wa La Quwata Illa BiLLah - There is no Effort or Power except with Allah's Will.

Yes, sis Herjihad, even i feel poor are targeted. The gap between the rich and poor is widening very much. JazakAllah for sharing it with us.

This article is very intresting. It created lots of politics. I simplt enjoyed alot. They went so deep that they did not mind condemning the existence of there own lord. Esp, Karunanidhi remarks roar us to laughter. Though i cannot present them here.----

Setusamudram ProjectAnother Ayodhya in the Making

By: DR. SHAKEEL SAMDANI

The Central Government’s filing of affidavit on the Setusamudram Project on September 10-11, 2007 provided enough ammunition for the BJP and its associates, who had been sitting idle without any mass appeal issue since 2004. The BJP thought it fit to seize the opportunity and turn the issue into an emotional one by relating it directly to Rama in the same manner as they had done in case of the Babri Mosque issue. In fact, it is the Central government, which, knowingly or unknowingly, gave this opportunity to them by first filing the said affidavit and then taking it back hurriedly. It seems that the Congress is working on the same lines as it had done during the Ayodhya issue, giving direct benefit to the Sangh Parivar. Setusamudram Ship Channel Project is almost 150-year old. It was conceived by an Englishman, Commander A.D. Tailor in 1860. He had placed a project of constructing the channel by removing rocks. After independence, in 1955, then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru constituted a committee, which gave its opinion in favour of the construction of the channel. In 1983 and 1996, two more committees were formed to look into the matter and finally in 2002, NDA government accorded its approval to the “project” by allocating 5 crore rupees in the budget. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the project on October 25, 2005. Four ministers of the erstwhile NDA government, namely Arun Jaitley, V.P. Goyal, S. Tharun Karasar and Shatrughan Sinha took active interest in the project. It is yet to be analysed why deliberations and consultations had been going on to construct the channel for the last 147 years? In fact, the channel will minimise the distance by nearly 780 kms for sailing ships and the time involved will also come down by 30 to 45 hours. India’s shores are almost 7517 kms and there are 12 large and 185 small shipyards. But the main hurdle before the Indian shipping is that the ships have to go round Sri Lanka before reaching eastern ports from western ones. It is not only for the commercial ships but even the ships of Indian Navy and coastguards have to adopt this circuitous route to reach eastern side from the western side. Every ship has to sail 425 nautical miles (780 kms) more, which involves wastage of money and time. One should also have a knowledge of Setusamudram/Adam Bridge. A stretch, known as Pak Street between Sri Lanka and Tamilnadu, covers the area up to Bay of Bengal. It derives its name from the Governor of Madras Presidency Robert Pak. A series of rocks exists in this area covering almost 30 kms when seen from above or photographed. It gives an impression of a broken bridge. According to Christians of Sri Lanka, Adam was thrown in India and Hawwa (Eve) in Sri Lanka after their expulsion from the Paradise. Adam reached Sri Lanka by crossing this bridge to meet Hawwa. Some Muslim scholars have also opined in the same manner. But there is no proof of its credibility. Likewise, the Hindus believe that when Ravana kidnapped Sita, the wife of Rama, and detained her in Sri Lanka. It was Hanuman who constructed the bridge with the help of monkeys, so that the army of Rama might cross and attack Sri Lanka. But there is no scientific or historical support to this view. In fact, Geographists and Archaeologists opine that the stone formation is a natural phenomenon and it is only a coincidence that it stretches in a sequence up to 30 kms. During East India Company’s rule and also under British rule several efforts were made to minimise the distance between western ports and eastern ones. In 1860 Townspeed, in 1882 Parliamentary Committee, in 1863 William, in 1871 Robertson, in 1872 Johncode, in 1884 South Indian Railway Engineers and in 1923 Robertson Brastoo Committees were constituted but due to reasons best known to the erstwhile rulers, the project could not take off and now it has become a headache for the Manmohan Singh government. Presently it has provided sufficient grounds for the BJP to mobilise Hindu masses just before assembly elections in the Gujarat. It will be appropriate to return to political side of Setusamudram after discussing historical and economic aspects. UPA government has erred already. At the time of filing the affidavit, it should have been careful as the issue is very sensitive. Paragraph 20 of the affidavit should not have discussed about existence of Rama at all. The government should have confined itself to the issue by saying that it has no proof about the 30 km long stretch under the sea to be Setusamudram or Adam’s bridge. Secondly, they must have pointed out that construction of the channel is important on economic and strategic count. Indian Navy and Coast Guards will have better opportunities, if the channel is constructed and put to naval use. The government should have desisted from opinion on the existence of Rama because in religious beliefs many points cannot be backed up by logic, history or scientific analysis. Congress has done such a blunder, knowingly or unknowingly, that is a matter of further observation. But in past, the Congress blundered on sensitive issues. The best example of such blunders is Babri Masjid issue. Now, the Congress is declaring that the project was sanctioned during NDA regime and the then Tamilnadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had also accorded approval. The UPA government is only executing their plans. But as the Congressmen lack will and resources to present their good deeds before masses, this theory rather truth is falling flat on the ground. On the other hand, it has provided a good opportunity for Sangh Parivar to exploit religious sentiments of the majority community. If we take into account economic aspects, we find that the total cost of the construction of two channels comes to about Rs. 2427 crore. When these channels are ready and open for naval use, the ships will be able to sail 780 km less and it will thus increase traffic on the way. Even before the completion of the project, the Government of India will earn rupees 1000 crore yearly and the profit will further go up to Rs. 5000 crore in the coming 10-15 years. The channels will serve India’s interest just like the Suez Canal is serving Egypt’s. Its construction will be fruitful to India in many ways. In short, it can be concluded that the Setusamudram Project is in the national interest. It is not a new concept because for the last 147 years it has been in the thinking line of various regimes. The British tried it, Jawaharlal Nehru made efforts in that direction, Indira Gandhi also paid attention to it but it got sanction during the Vajpayee regime. It means it has consent and approval of 26 national and regional political parties. Subramaniyam Swami, who filed the petition in the Supreme Court, had also extended his support to it. It is in national interest; hence Manmohan Singh Government not only approved it but went on to execute it in October, 2005. Though the project has to be completed in 2008 but the Apex Court has stayed it for the time being. Setusamudram Project is a living example of dirty politics of Indian political establishment. The political parties that approved it in the beginning are opposing it now. Almost two thirds work on the project has been completed and the target was to complete it in 2008 but now it has received a setback. As the Sangh Parivar is expected to reap rich harvest by this ongoing controversy, it may linger on till the coming Lok Sabha elections. The irony is that the Sangh Parivar and the BJP are giving it communal colour too by taking reference of Muslims and Christians. BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad has unnecessarily mentioned the sacred names of Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Isa (Jesus) – peace and blessings of Allah be with them. Pravin Togadia mentioned even the name of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb for making Muslims a party though there is no conflict between Hindus and Muslims on this count. In fact, the conflict of opinion and interest lies between L.K. Advani and Chief Minister of Tamilnadu M. Karunanidhi. BJP Member of Parliament, Vedanti made a statement in Parliament to cut off the head and tongue of Karunanidhi (though he later on retracted his statement because there was danger of his being disqualified from membership of Parliament). Muslims neither oppose to the construction of the channels nor do they favour it. Political parties should decide their future course of action keeping in view national interest and not their narrow political agenda. India is a democratic nation and democracy has certain obligations. Hence, it is better for them and the nation as well to have constructive approach. All parties involved in the controversy should give preference to the prosperity and security of country over all other considerations.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."

'Scapegoats and Holy Cows' – The Indian State's 'Response' to Terrorism

Each time there is a bomb blast like the recent one in Jaipur, the Indian State reaches out its 'long arms of injustice' to pick a scapegoat from amidst the Indian population to cover up its own incompetence in providing security to its citizens.

The hapless creature, decorated and demonized by the 'fashion designers' of Indian officialdom, is then paraded before the entire nation to create a public spectacle prior to its ritual sacrifice.

The armchair warriors then call for 'tougher laws' to deal with terrorism while the scapegoat disappears forever into the black hole of the Indian prison system.

That the 'prime suspects' in such cases always happen to be bearded young Muslim men and Islamic theologists to boot is not a surprise at all. In the racist imagination of theadministration, police , intelligence agencies , security forces, sections of the media and politicians all the criminals in this country wear their 'criminality' on their faces- the suspects are always MAD- Muslim, Adivasi, Dalit.

The latest example of such scapegoating comes from Jaipur where within hours of the heinous bomb blasts that killed innocent people the state police has started harassing, arresting and deporting Bangladeshi and Bengali speaking Muslims in the city.

What we have witnessed in the last decade is that after each blast or surprise violent act, arrests are made, organisations named but the police and investigative agencies have not been able to prove their claims in any of the cases. But the people arrested continue to languish in jails or suffer other kinds of victimisation. It is very disturbing as it shows that the agencies responsible for the security of the people are incapable and to cover their inefficiency, they keep abducting people from the minority community which are produced at their chosen time. The real culprits remain at bay and the threat remains undiminished.

However, The Indian state's treatment of scapegoats is in stark contrast to the 'holy cows' it protects, irrespective of their trespasses or crimes against the people of the country.

Whether it be the Hashimpura massacre of 1987, the Babri Masjid demolition and the Mumbai massacre of 1992, the Gujarat genocide of 2002 or the Nanded bomb blasts of 2002, the real culprits are either never apprehended and even if they are - never punished. Despite the open involvement of the leaders of the BJP and Shiv Sena , RSS, VHP and other Sangh outfits in a systematic and consistent hate campaign, organised communal massacres and in stockpiling and manufacture of arms they are never declared terrorist organisations and banned. Open armed parade by the RSS , Trishul dikshas Dikshas are tolerated and allowed. They are the holy cows who are never touched.

It is time to end the division of the Indian people into scapegoats or holy cows and ensure equal justice to all irrespective of caste, class, community or religion. And to achieve this we the citizens of India have to pledge to fight atrocities of the Indian State and its holy cows wherever they occur, from the smallest to the highest levels in the country.

This convention on 'Scapegoats and Holy Cows- The State's 'Response to Terrorism' therefore condemns:

- The way innocent people, especially Muslims, across India are being harassed, picked up, arrested and tortured in the name of fighting terrorism;

- The existence of draconian 'anti-terrorist' laws like the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, ASPA,1958 and calls for more new ones that will suspend basic Constitutional rights as this will only worsen the problem of terrorism and never solve it.

- The victimization of the entire Muslim community in the country without a proper investigation of the role of specific individuals who may come from any community in the country;

- The failure of the Indian Home Ministry and national security agencies in providing proper intelligence on terrorist activities and protecting the lives of innocent civilians;

- Attempts to prevent lawyers from providing legal assistance to those arrested on 'suspicion' of being involved in the 'terrorist' act;

We further demand the Indian government:

- Repeal all repressive laws that have replaced POTA at both the national and state level or are already part of the Indian Penal Code as also the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and the Disturbed Areas Act;

- Stop promoting civil war through the unconstitutional arming civilians to fight 'terrorists' as in the case of Salwa Judum in Chattisgarh and also in the Indian northeast and Kashmir;

- Closely investigate the involvement of the RSS, VHP and other Sangh outfits in terrorist bomb blasts and attacks as also their vast network of individuals and institutions propagating anti-Constitutional values;

- Present a White Paper to the Indian public on the follow up and results of investigations into various terrorist attacks that have happened in the country over the last twenty years;

- Present a White Paper on the numbers of Muslims, Adivasis and Dalits imprisoned in the country and the status of the cases against them;

-Stop harassing human rights activists and release with due compensation to all innocent people arrested and tortured in the name of countering terrorism;

- Make the Indian intelligence service accountable for its grand failures in either warning the public or catching the real masterminds behind terrorist attacks despite all the huge sums of taxpayer money spent on them;

- End the culture of fake encounters that has taken hold within the Indian security forces seeking material rewards for their anti-terrorism operations;

- Evolve a humane national policy towards foreign migrant labour coming into India from neighbouring countries particularly migrant Muslims, if necessary by promoting a visa-free regime for South Asia;

- End the rampant corruption of border security forces that has criminalised the entire migration process and aggravated the problems of both migrants and host populations;

We on our part as citizens of India pledge to;

- Fight the demonisation of Muslims and other communities in the country by the Indian state as also sectarian, communal political forces in the country;

- Set up an independent Commission comprising retired judges, eminent intellectuals, retired police officials, and journalists to probe into atrocities and discrimination against Muslim as part of anti-terrorism operations;

Source : Siasat

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."

Swami Agnivesh is the President of the Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha ('World Council of the Arya Samaj'). A well-known social activist, he has played a leading role in the struggle against communalism in India , including against Hindutva terrorism,about which he talks in this interview with Yoginder Sikand

Q: How do you explain the recent wave of bomb blasts that have taken place across India ? How can this dangerous phenomenon be tackled?

A: Clearly, behind such attacks is a certain ideology at work whose major objective is to create hatred between the different communities. That, rather than just killing innocent people, is the real objective of those behind these dastardly and cowardly acts. These forces, who could be both internal as well as external, and who could include extremist Hindus, extremist Muslims or others, clearly do not want people of the different communities to live in peace with each other.

Among the various steps that should be taken to counter this form of terrorism is for people to isolate the forces within their own respective religious communities that seek to foment communal hatred. If a Hindu name emerges as being behind a certain terrorist attack, it is for Hindus, in particular, to fiercely condemn such a person or organization, not just as a criminal but also as anti-Hindu. And the same holds true for how Muslims should respond if the person or outfit behind a terror attack bears a Muslim name. Terrorism cannot be tackled simply by the government machinery without this sort of social or public mobilization against it. In this, it is particularly crucial that we desist from branding or associating any particular community with terrorism, because terrorism does not know any barrier of community. It is wrong to associate t with any religion. It is also crucial, as I suggested, that if a person claiming to belong to a particular community engages in an act of terror, those others who also belong to the same community must fiercely condemn his act as not just being a crime but also a gross violation of the religious teachings of the community in question. Only then can these elements be denied any social sanction or support.

And this is now beginning to happen. A number of leading Muslim clerics have issued fatwas against any form of terrorism, no matter what the religion of the perpetrator. And so I would like Hindu leaders to also begin to say the same thing. Recently, I issued a statement on behalf of the Arya Samaj appealing to all Hindu religious leaders not to support those Hindutva activists who have been accused in the Modassa and Malegaon terror attack cases. I appealed to them to expose Hinduvta terrorists, for they are giving the entire Hindu community a bad name. I pointed out that numerous Muslim ulema or religious leaders have organized mass rallies and have issued fatwas condemning all forms of terrorism, including that engaged in by self-styled jihadist groups. Recently, I attended a huge inter-faith conference in Madrid to denounce all forms of terrorism, which was organized by the King of Saudi Arabia. I suggested that Hindu religious leaders should also do the same and forcefully condemn all forms of terrorism, including that done in the name of Hinduism or by Hindus, as anti-Hindu, anti-religion and anti-human.

I made the same point at the National Integration Council meeting that was recently held in Delhi , where I said that leading Indian maulvis are issuing fatwas against all forms of terrorism and organizing mass rallies, some of which I have also addressed, to denounce it, and I asked why Hindu religious leaders were not doing the same.

Q: What has been the result of this appeal of yours to Hindu religious leaders? Are they coming out to forcefully condemn terror engaged in by Hindutva groups, just as many Muslim clerics are now openly speaking against terrorism done in the name of Islam?

A: Unfortunately, many Hindu religious leaders continue to remain silent on this. To remain silent on such a heinous matter can, in some cases, be construed as tacit approval. But I am still making efforts to make them realize the gravity of the situation.

Q: In recent years there is a growing tendency in some circles to associate Islam, in particular, with terrorism. How do you see this development?

A: I think this is completely unfair. It is a product of the imperialist agenda of certain Western powers that need to create the spectre of radical Islamism as allegedly posing an immense threat to the West so as to help the West justify its continuing hegemony, its global power and its control over West Asian oil resources. Using this warped logic, and without any evidence, America has attacked and devastated Afghanistan and Iraq and seems to be bent on taking on the whole Muslim world. George Bush openly calls for a 'crusade', and thus seeks to lend credence to the thoroughly bankrupt theory of the 'clash of civilisations' . The Western media has been forcefully propagating this thesis, and now, especially after 9/11, large sections of the Indian media are also parroting the same bogus theory.

To repeat, to seek to associate terrorism with any religion or community is completely wrong. I think, and I have said this publicly, that George Bush is the world's No. 1 terrorist. It was the Western establishment that, along with its client regimes, created the Taliban and armed Saddam, and the Bin Laden family is a business partner of the Bush family. In the same way, the Congress, under Indira Gandhi, propped up Bhindaranwala, but he later turned into a Frankenstein. Likewise, the first victim of terrorism in free India , Mahatma Gandhi, was killed by a Hindu, not a Muslim. It was not a Muslim who killed Indira Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi. And so you can easily see through the falsity of the slogan, 'All Muslims may not be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims' that is so frequently mouthed today.

Q: What do you have to say about the recent revelations about some Hindutva groups being involved in fomenting terrorism in India ?

A: Yes, this phenomenon exists and the media is gradually bringing it to light. Hindutva ideologues have been consistently seeking to equate Islam and Muslims with terrorism but now that evidence is surfacing of the close involvement of radical Hindutva outfits in terrorism they are saying that terrorism must not be sought to be associated with any religion. But this is precisely what they were doing all this while with regard to Islam. They are saying that the so-called Sadhvi who has been arrested in connection with the Malegaon blasts should not be called a 'terrorist'. Rather, they say, she should be termed as an 'accused' because the charges against her have not been as yet proved by the courts. But if that is the case, then why do they refer to the Muslims nabbed by the police, but against whom the courts have not passed their verdicts, as 'Islamic terrorists', without demanding the same sort of proof? You can call them 'suspects' or 'accused', but why jump to the conclusion that all of them are actually terrorists without the charges against them being proven?

There is ample evidence to show that Hindutva groups have been involved in planning and executing acts of terror, but, unfortunately, for its own political purposes, the Government has done little to curb this and has sought to play this down. Nor has the media given this the serious attention that it deserves. Such terror attacks obviously help the Hindutva lobby as they widen the Hindu-Muslim chasm, which, in turn, makes it easier to play on Hindu sentiments in order to win Hindu votes. One cannot rule out the possibility of Hindutva elements in being behind some of the other blasts besides the ones in Malegaon, Modassa, Nanded, Kanpur and so on that are now coming to light. Blasts could have been done by any group, Hindu or Muslim or whatever, but it is wrong to jump to a conclusion without proper investigation.

But let me come back to the Malegaon terror case. I recently held a press conference where I pointed out that a television channel, Sudarshan TV, which is very close to the RSS, reported the Malegaon bomb blast almost as soon as it had happened, before other, large channels reported it. This might be additional evidence of Hindutva radicals being behind the terror attack. And, of course, other possible evidence is also emerging. If the so-called Sadhvi and the army officer and others who are accused are found to be guilty, they must be socially ostracized by the Hindu society. If this so-called Sadhvi, dressed in the saffron robes of a sanyasin, is really involved in this blast it is a matter of great shame for Hindus. Hindutva terrorists are a blot on the name of Hindu society. It seems that they have taken upon themselves the task of giving Hinduism a bad name, to give it the shape of terrorism. In actual fact, they are enemies of Hinduism and the Hindu society. They want to divide and thereby destroy the country, using terror for building their vote-banks.

Q: Do you think there is any ideological link between radical Hindutva and terrorism?

A: The roots of the notion of Hindutva go back to Savarkar, who coined the term in the 1920s. Before that, he appeared to champion Hindu-Muslim solidarity, but following his stay in jail in the Andaman Islands his views completely changed, and he then started claiming that the Hindus and Muslims of India were, in effect, two different nations. He appealed to Hindus to militarise themselves. He argued that those who did not follow religions that were born in India were not real patriots or genuine Indians. And so, according to this poisonous thesis, Muslims and Christians were to be considered as not true Indians, deserving of, at best, second-grade citizenship.

This thesis of Hindutva gave a handle to the proponents of a separate Muslim state of Pakistan . I am convinced that if there was no Hindutva, there would have been no separate Pakistan , and India would have remained one. And the millions of Muslims who stayed behind in India after the Partition I consider to be much more patriotic than the Hindutva-walas, because the former were offered the dream of a seeming utopia, of 'heaven', if they migrated to Pakistan , but they refused to migrate, and, instead, they stayed on in their homeland. And this they did despite all the immense threats, challenges and fear that they were forced to face, and despite the repeated anti-Muslim pogroms and pervasive discrimination. Who, then, can dare question their patriotism?

So, let me unhesitatingly say, yes, the ideology of Hindutva, as we know it, is inextricably linked to terrorism, in both theory as well as in practice. And I would go further and say that Hindutva is even worse than that—it is sheer fascism. Let me also say that the greatest victims and sufferers of Hindutva fascism will not be Muslims or Christians, but, rather, Hindus themselves.

Q: Why do you say that?

A: I say this because history clearly tells us that if any form of fascism is not combated by the community or people in whose name it claims to speak, it will eventually destroy that people or community. Thus, when Hitler went about massacring the Jews the German Christians remained silent, and because they did not oppose his Nazism they had to face huge loss of German life in the Second World War. When Bhindaranwale and his henchmen went about killing Hindus, many Sikhs remained quiet, and eventually more Sikhs than Hindus were killed by the Khalistanis. In Kashmir , self-styled Islamist extremists have killed many times more Muslims than Hindus. Likewise, because radical Islamist groups in Pakistan were fanned by the state, and there was no effective Muslim protest against them, they now pose a potent threat to the peace and prosperity of the people of Pakistan , the vast majority of who are Muslims, and many Pakistani Muslims have fallen victim to them. So, I find that there is no reason to believe that if Hindus do not speak out and assertively protest against Hindutva fascism they would not have to suffer immensely later. It will prove to be a disaster for them, and, besides this, it would only give India a bad name. I firmly believe that all forces, groups and people that are genuinely concerned about the welfare of India , must stand up against Hindutva fascism.

Q: What do you feel about the way the government has gone about seeking to tackle the problem of terrorism?

A: There is no uniform approach across the country. So, for instance, we witnessed the state-sponsored genocide and massive wave of terror in Gujarat in 2002, that caused the deaths of vast numbers of innocent Muslims. The way this genocide was launched, with such precision, made me suspect that one cannot rule out the possibility that the burning of the coach of Sabarmati Express might have been orchestrated by Modi himself to fan anti-Muslim hatred and garner Hindu votes.

But the role of the state in such heinous violence targeted against innocent people, which is a form of terrorism, did not start with Modi. The nefarious role of top bosses in the Congress Party in orchestrating the large-scale massacre of Sikhs in 1984 is well-known. So, various governments have sought to fan violence against minorities for their own political purposes, and no discussion of terrorism in India can leave out this crucial dimension.

We also have to talk of and speak out against other forms of terrorism. The killing of some 3000 innocent people in America on 9/11 was a terrible crime, and it must be condemned, but the West does not want us to talk of other forms of terrorism in which Western powers and elites are directly implicated. Some 7000 children die in India daily, mainly due to poverty, which is caused by a skewed and totally inhuman notion of 'development' propagated by Indian and Western elites. Is this not a form of terrorism also? In some senses, it is a worse form of terrorism, not only because it is of a far greater magnitude but also because it causes prolonged pain and suffering to its victims, unlike those who die in an instant in a terrorist attack. Some twenty-five thousand dowry-deaths of women are recorded every year in India . Is this not also a form of terrorism? Is not female foeticide a form of terrorism?

The point I am making is that all forms of terrorism, whether in the name of religion, community, nation, gender or whatever, needs to be sternly condemned and struggled against. Let us not be selective in our approach, because terrorism anywhere is a danger to humanity everywhere.

Mumbai attack is as grave as Gandhiji’s killing and Babri Masjid demolition

Hyderabad, November 27 (Siasat News): Renowned journalist and human rights activist Mr. Amrish Mishra expressed his strong reaction over the terrorist attack and said that this conspiracy was hatched by Israel’s Mussed and notorious communal party RSS.

This attack is as grave as the killing of Mahatma Gandhi and demolition of Babri Masjid. The same communal forces are involved in this conspiracy also. Talking to Siasat late last night from Mumbai, Mr. Mishra claimed that the killing of brave ATS officers who were in the concluding stage of the investigations of Malegaon blast which could have shown the real face of the saffron parties and the beginning of the firing from Nariman House where substantial number of Jews are living, clearly shows that this was an anti-national act of terror with Israel’s Missal’s hand in grave because this kind of attack is just not possible by RSS alone.

Whatever has happened the entire last night in Mumbai could be concluded that it was the joint ‘effort’ of Mussed with RSS. The irony of it is that those ATS officers, who were assigned the duties of Malegaon blasts, were on the verge of making their report final and all three of them were eliminated. They are Mr. Hemant Karkare, DIG Ashok Kale and encounter specialist Vijay Salazar.

Their killing has proved that it was the handy work of the anti-national forces. This is also equivalent to the killing of the officer Mr. Sharma who was shot dead at Batla House encounter. Mr. Amrish Mishra added that Nariman house has many Jews tenants and the beginning of the firing from there create many doubts. He said that he was watching the TV and clearly saw that Mr. Hemant Karkare was wearing the helmet to get ready for the confrontation and imagine my astonishment that after half an hour, I got the news that Mr. Hemant Karkare was killed. Circumstances would take what turn, no one can say at present. He also said that after the attack, some miscreants had come on the road with saffron flags and chanting anti-Muslim slogans but people drove them out.

Those who are very much in touch with the situation don’t seem to believe that these attacks are the handy work of any Muslim terrorist organization because people can no longer be taken for a ride. They know who are behind these attacks. He opined that Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil should immediately tender his resignation. He had links with RSS in the past. On taking responsibility by Deccan Mujahedeen, Mr. Mishra said neither Home Minister nor chief minister had confirmed this.

Only some Hindi channels had given the news of Deccan Mujahedeen. Many Gujaratis had expressed their fear while talking to TV channels that at Nariman House, the number of Jews tenants is increasing day by day which is a threat because their (Jews) activities are suspicious. In this regard, a police complaint was also lodged with the police. They are of the opinion that if police had taken action against, this situation as of now, would not have arisen at all.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."

I had written a small article in The
Hindustan Times in June 2004. It was called ‘Come Shoot Me: I am a Terrorist’.
It was to express my anguish on Ishrat Jahan’s killing in Gujarat.

The Magisterial Enquiry, which is mandatory in every encounter
case (and which was never done in the Batla House encounter) has finally termed
it Ishrat jahan’s killing as a fake encounter yesterday in a metropolitan
court. It is not a matter of surprise for us as we knew that she was killed in
cold blood. Perhaps you will also agree that such things are happening and
happened in Gujarat under Modi. But I am not writing to talk about how bad Modi
is.

I am writing this to ask you a small favour.

I know you have absolutely hectic schedules and thousands of
issues to handle so I am putting down here the facts, gathered from various
media reports.

On June 15, 2003, the Ahmedabad city crime branch, then headed by
the now jailed IPS officer D G Vanzara, shot four young people –Ishrat Jahan,
Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Jisan Johar. It was propagated
that these four young people were alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operatives who
were allegedly on mission to kill chief minister Narendra Modi.

Ishrat, was a 19-year old student of Khalsa College in Mumbra, a
Mumbai suburb.

Ishrat's mother filed a petition in the high court in 2004
demanding death compensation and a CBI probe. Ishrat Jahan’s mother’s Petition
alleged that it was a fake encounter as one of the many that the present
government regime in Gujarat headed by Narendra Modi had done to achieve
Political Mileage to publicly create panic and sympathy that the Chief Minister
was sought to be assassinated.

The crime branch carried out the operation and the same agency
conducted investigation.

When the petition was heard by Justice KS Jhaveri , he immediately
proposed, almost on line taken by the Supreme Court in the infamous Sohrabuddin
fake encounter case, for which Vanzara was jailed along with other policemen,
that a five-member team - all of the rank of additional DGP - should probe this
case.

The encounter was done by the infamous D. G. Vanzara and his
team who are presently arrested under Orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in
the case of fake encounter of Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausarbi. Sohrabuddin’s
encounter has been admitted by the state to be fake and recently on 11/08/2008,
they have agreed to deposit an amount of Rs. 10.00 Lakhs as interim ex-gratia
compensation for being paid to the Kith and Kin of the two.

There are allegedly 28 encounters which were fake and have been
covered up.

In Ishrat Jahan’s matter the CBI was impleaded as a Party and it
took a stand that if the Court so orders they are willing to carry out fresh
investigations and unearth the truth. Such stand triggered panic with the State
Government and it seems even with some Officers of Central Home Ministry. After UPA came to power some
tainted CBI officers placed in Gujarat during the NDA with questionable track
record were removed aftera lot of
pressure and almost two years but they soon found plush positions in Delhi
under UPA regime.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."

To our dismay we realized last month through the media reports
that the Ministry of Home Affairs in an affidavit stated that Ishrat, Javed and
two others Jisan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana were all operatives of Pakistan-based
terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba.

Maintaining that the four were terrorists, the Union government
told the high court, "No proposal for CBI investigation is under
consideration of the Centre nor does it consider the present case fit for CBI
probe."

Moreover, the Centre claimed that there is no question of
independent inquiry, as an additional DGP (CID & Intelligence) had carried
out an independent probe into the incident and the officer is neither working
with crime branch nor is he a subordinate to the crime branch, which carried
out the operation and later investigated the case itself."

If you remember Hon’ble prime Minister when I met you regarding
the Package for the Gujarat 2002 victims along with other activists from
Gujarat I had jokingly said, “The news that UPA has replaced NDA at the centre
has not reached your Home Ministry as yet’. I had said this precisely in the
connection of how the tainted officers promoted by the BJP were still being
pampered under the UPA.

The reason behind filing of the Affidavit by the Central
Government was to dissuade the Court from appointing a strong S I T and give a
message that even the Central Government had approved the act of fake encounter.
But for the magisterial enquiry the Central Home Ministry had left no stone
unturned to prove that Ishrat deserved to be killed.

The logic used always is what will happen to the morale of the
officers. My question is what happens to the morale of the officers when they
torture innocent young people, when they kill them, when they illegally detain
them, beat them. What happens to their morale then? Do they just go home and
sleep?

Why don’t we as nation stop playing the farce of being a secular
nation and why don’t we remove the article from the constitution which says all
citizens are equal?

The affidavit filed by the Home Ministry is a proof of the fact
that in Ishrat Jahan’s fake encounter case UPA has connived with the Gujarat
government in a blatantly communal manner. With 3 days to go before assembly
bye election in 7 seats in Gujarat 5 more innocent boys have been picked up in
Baroda and declared' terrorists'.

I do not know if this letter will be also lost on the way and find
itself in a dustbin as I have never received any acknowledgment from your
office, so I will be forced to circulate it to others to lodge a strong protest
against this blatant connivance of the Home Ministry with the Gujarat
government.

My request to you is that if your government has any
political will then please ask your home ministry to tender a public apology
for filing the affidavit against the innocent girl who was so brutally
murdered. It requires some courage and conviction.

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot create polls in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum

Disclaimer:
The opinions expressed herein contain positions and viewpoints that are not necessarily those of IslamiCity. This forum is offered to stimulate dialogue and discussion in our continuing mission of being an educational organization.
If there is any issue with any of the postings please email to icforum at islamicity.com or if you are a forum's member you can use the report button.